Friday, November 30, 2012

I titled this post The Daube Dilemma because I couldn't muster up much excitement about having "a great beef stew" in my "cooking back pocket." My interest was piqued when I read the recipe called for an entire bottle of red wine, splash of Cognac, bacon, and whole head of garlic. Sounded a bit like Boeuf Bourguignon... which I do enjoy. But what's the difference between daube and bourguignon?

This could have easily turned into a comparison study, as with my French Fridays with Dorie French Onion Soup post, but I chose to keep it relatively simple. Since Dorie admits her Go To Beef Daube is not truly daube but bouef aux carottes, I consulted Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia's Daube de Boeuf, defined as casserole of beef with wine and vegetables - hot or cold, is made with lean stewing beef, carrots, onions, garlic, and herbs, all marinated in red or white wine and a splash of brandy for 3 hours. It is then layered in a covered casserole (called a daubière) with strips of bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes, and braised for 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon, defined as beef stew in red wine, bacon, with bacon, onions, and mushrooms, and proclaimed to be certainly one of the most delicious beef dishes concocted by man, omits the marinating process. The braising liquid is more complex with a full-bodied young red wine, beef stock and tomato paste, although I did like the addition of Cognac to Dorie's daube. After the meat has braised for 2 1/2 - 3 hours, Julia adds sauteed mushrooms and pearl onions that have been braised in stock to the casserole. The stew is served on a platter surrounded with boiled potatoes, buttered noodles, or steamed rice, and garnished with parsley.

Dorie's Go To Beef Daube

Another dilemma arose when I realized I looked at the wrong daube recipe and bought the wrong ingredients. I shopped for My Go-To Beef Daube when I should have shopped for Beef Cheek Daube with Carrots and Elbow Macaroni. I could have switched gears without too much of a problem - because the correct recipe allows for substitution of the beef cheeks for beef chuck roast, but I would like to try beef cheeks in the future. So, I stayed with the Go-To Beef Daube which uses beef chuck roast, bacon, onions, shallots, garlic, carrots, parsnips, Cognac, a full bottle of fruity red wine, and herbs. I did prepare it the night before, but must say I preferred the taste and tenderness of the meat when it first came out of the oven on night one. I served it over mashed potatoes with a small side of green beans.

We enjoyed Dorie's daube, but I still prefer bourguignon. However, as with daube - where each region of France has its own version, there are more ways than one to arrive at a good boeuf bourguignon!

French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group, dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. As members of the group, we have purchased the cookbook and cook along as much as we can. There is a new recipe each week, and we post about that recipe on Friday. We are asked to refrain from posting the actual recipes on our blog. The book is filled with stunning photography, and personal stories about each recipe, which makes it that much more intriguing. I highly recommend adding it to your cookbook collection if you haven't already!

Monday, November 12, 2012

As soon as I turned the page and saw that thick wedge of ginger spice cake lightly dusted with powdered sugar, snuggled up with a heaping spoonful of warm cranberries and soft pillow of whipped cream, my mind drifted off to a cozy mountain cabin warmed by the spicy aroma of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and allspice wafting from the kitchen...

Although this cake has Thanksgiving and Christmas written all over it, I made it a little earlier in the holiday season for a German Novemberfest party. I actually doubled the recipe and made two cakes - one for Novemberfest and the second for a CAbi party the next day. I used 8-inch cake pans instead of 9-inch, so my cakes were a bit thicker and took about 10 minutes longer to bake. I also simmered the cranberries an extra 10-15 minutes and added a few tablespoons of Luxardo Cherry Liqueur during the last 5 minutes of simmering.

After posting a teaser photo of my finished cake on Newf in My Soup's Facebook page, my friend Holli made me laugh with her e-mail comment: You really seem to dig Tyler Florence...bet you'd like to warm HIS cranberries ;-) Okay, I guess it may be time to change my profile photo...

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the pan bottom and place it inside; then spray the paper. Set aside.

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg, molasses, sugar, and melted butter until thick. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat for 1 minute after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the cake’s structure. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth down the top of the batter until even. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, combine the ingredients for the cranberries in a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan, and then slice it in wedges. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with warm cranberries and whipped cream.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Thanks to a wonderful group of friends who have supported me through an especially emotional month, my life has been brightened by Oktoberfest, nights out with the girls, a homemade pizza party, the Hotel Del Coronado's Hallo-Wine and Spirits Party, steamy bowls of Chicken and Smoked Sausage Gumbo, dinner at Terra Nova, Newfy play dates, and new friends Holli and Monique. The rest of the year is filling up with photography and Wine & Dine San Diego assignments, holiday plans and travel. My kitchen has been fairly quiet, but I definitely plan on cooking over the holidays and throwing a small dinner party with my prize money from Saveur magazine.

I planned on dedicating a blog post about the Ocean Avenue Pizza Party to share some of the amazing pizza topping combinations we all came up with, but I was too busy making and eating pizza and drinking wine to take photos and notes. Earlier that afternoon, I did make and photograph a panini version with the toppings I used for my pizza. The panini version was inspired by a recipe for Fig Relish and Prosciutto Panini in Plum Gorgeous: Recipes and Memories from the Orchard, by Romney Steele.

For the pizza, I spread fig jam on the dough, followed by thin slices of fresh mozzarella and scattered dots of gorgonzola. Torn pieces of prosciutto, and arugula lightly tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette top the pizza when it comes out of the oven. Another winning combination was Nina's pizza with pumpkin puree, sage walnut pesto and pecorino. Her sage-walnut pesto is the bomb!

Without John to plan and throw his annual Halloween bash, and not wanting to stay home with the memories, I tagged along with the group to the Hotel Del Coronado's Hallo-Wine and Spirits Party.

It was an elaborate affair with wine tasting, passed hors d'oeuvres (I had four of those amazing smoked oyster crostini), charcuterie platters, dinner buffet, master pumpkin carver, and the wandering ghost of Kate Morgan, all in the garden courtyard, followed by drinks, dancing, and a costume contest in the Crown Room. We weren't quite sure what to stuff in our trick or treat bags, but Kai's made it home filled with charcuterie. The pirate costume reappeared for a second year, surrounded by the cast of Clue and a few other characters.

Hotel Del Coronado Hallo-Wine and Spirits Party

"I am sorry to see you here, but if you had fought like a man, you needn't be hang'd like a dog." - Anne Bonny

My Bluestem cookbook remained out on the coffee table after writing my recent Spicy Fig Cake post and I came across another dessert that sounded ideal for this time of year - Graham Cracker Pound Cake with Hot Chocolate-Poached Pears and Tangerine Sorbet. I've poached pears in wine, but never in homemade hot chocolate enhanced by cinnamon, cloves, allspice berries, and dark rum. The poached pears are definitely a keeper and the pound cake was moist and tasty, but the jury is still out on the tangerine sorbet. Next time, I think I'll go with the pears, cake, and whipped cream, or just the pears with a dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream.

In a medium saucepan, bring the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, allspice and cloves to a simmer over medium-high heat to dissolve the sugar. Add the chocolates, cocoa powder, rum and salt, and whisk until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Add the pears and poach them for 45 minutes over low heat. Turn them over once halfway through so they cook more evenly. They should be tender enough that a knife inserted in the thickest part will easily slip in and out.

Keep the pears warm until ready to serve. If you're not using them right away, you may refrigerate the pears in their poaching liquid in an airtight container for up to 2 days (letting the cooked pears steep in the chocolate poaching liquid overnight helps intensify the chocolate flavor). To reheat, warm the pears in the poaching liquid in a saucepan over medium-low heat. To serve, use a slotted spoon and gently transfer the warm pear halves to serving plates or bowls and spoon some of the hot-chocolate sauce over the top of the pears (you may wish to first strain the poaching liquid to make sure you don't serve any of the allspice berries or cloves).

In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until fluffy and light, scraping the bowl with a spatula as needed, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk the half and half, eggs, and vanilla together. In a separate bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt.

With the mixer on medium speed, add one-third of the wet ingredients to the creamed butter and mix until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl. With the stand mixer on low speed, repeat the process with half of the dry ingredients. Repeat the process, alternating the wet and dry ingredients until everything is incorporated.

Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack.

To serve, slice the cake into 1-inch-thick slices. Place one slice of pound cake on each plate. Nest half of a warm poached pear next to each slice and top each slice with a small scoop of sorbet. Serve immediately.